The Lincoln Parish LSU AgCenter Extension office faces a July 31 deadline to find $30,000 of additional funding on the local level.
Last week, community leaders, residents and stakeholders gathered to discuss the future of the LSU AgCenter Extension office after having time to examine the state business plan for the agency. That plan would result in a reduction to 95 4-H agents, 36 Family and Consumer Sciences agents and 67 Agriculture and Natural Resource agents across the state.

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It’s that time of year again — time for local talents to step up to the stage of the Dixie Center for the Arts and show community members what they have to offer.
The 2012 competition of the Dixie Horizon Entertainer is set to take the stage at 2 p.m. March 17.
Entries are now being accepted for the search and entry forms are due by March 14, along with the $40 entry fee.

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CHOUDRANT — It was a monumental moment for Choudrant on Feb. 22 when the upgrades at the elementary and high school were declared substantially complete.
The journey to this point of the project began in 2007, when Choudrant voters first turned down a proposal for a millage tax that would fund a completely new elementary school and substantial upgrades — including a new classroom building and sky walk — for the high school.

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Question: I have a lot of early spring blooms of daffodils in the lawn around my house. I would like to enhance the landscape with some early blooming shrubs that would fit with the daffodils. I have 17 different bulb types from the big to the small. They are in different colors and bloom over a six-week period. What type of shrubs do you think would fit well into the landscape?

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With gas prices higher than a cat’s back, it is perfect timing for Simsboro High and Dubach High to reach the championship round of the 2012 Louisiana High School Athletic Association basketball playoffs.
The Tigers (30-6) and Hornets (18-15) won’t have to travel far.
They’re all but a 3-point field goal away from the Thomas Assembly Center on the campus of Louisiana Tech University,
Just down the road, if you will, and perfect for their loyali fan bases which have played a vital role in the two schools reaching the ultimate contest in their classifications.

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Well, just when I thought things were looking up for the New Orleans Saints, Gregg Williams, former defensive coordinator for the team, decided he would go ahead and ruin the defense some more from his new coaching position in St. Louis.
You see, the Saints had finally signed Drew Brees to a deal, but shortly after I heard that news, the “information” that Williams ran his defense in New Orleans with a bounty-scheme style.
Williams has admitted and apologized for running a bounty pool of up to $50,000 over the last three seasons that rewarded players with thousand-dollar payoffs for knocking targeted opponents out of games while he was the Saints’ defensive coordinator.

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Louisiana Tech University, in conjunction with the Western Athletic Conference office, announced its 2012 conference schedule Monday as it finalized its full 2012 football schedule.
The Bulldogs will have three conference games at home and three on the road in the seven-team WAC in 2012.

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A trio of Louisiana Tech University players earned All-Western Athletic Conference accolades Monday, as seniors Jasmine Bendolph and Shantale Bramble-Donaldson and freshman Whitney Frazier were honored by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Bendolph and Bramble-Donaldson were both named to the second team and Frazier was named to both the league’s all-Freshman team and the All-Defensive team.
Bendolph averaged 8.6 points, 6.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in WAC-only action. Bramble-Donaldson averaged 12.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in league action while shooting 53 percent from the field. Frazier averaged 10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 assists per game in WAC-only contests.

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Each year the residents of Lincoln Parish join together to show support for causes that will help better the community.
This time of year is set aside for helping the March of Dimes, which focuses on helping expectant mother’s carry babies to full-term and providing those who can’t with what is needed for not only the mother, but also the baby to survive.
Right here in Lincoln Parish we have three ambassadors to our local March of Dimes teams, all three were born prematurely and are alive today because of what MOD provided for them.

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Thinking about vegetable gardening this spring, what about raised bed gardening? Traditionally, to grow your own fresh vegetables, we often thought that we had to have a back 40 or some large area to plant, along with equipment such as a tractor or tiller, which is not necessarily true.
A garden salad can be produced in small raised-bed 4-by-4 foot gardens or even in containers. This is what we have set up to do with school and community gardens throughout northern Louisiana.

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